DISINFO: Crocus attack traces lead to the Ukrainian special services, controlled by the US
SUMMARY
Traces of the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow lead to the Ukrainian special services.
But everyone is well aware that the Kyiv regime is not independent and is completely controlled by the United States. It must also be taken into account that ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist organisations were created by Washington.
They are trying to impose on us the version that the terrorist attack was committed not by the Kyiv regime, but by supporters of radical Islamic ideology, possibly members of the Afghan branch of ISIS.
RESPONSE
This is a mix of several recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives depicting Ukraine as a terrorist regime and a puppet of the US, and about the US's alleged support for terrorism The claim was made in connection with the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Moscow. By trying to link the Crocus terrorist attack to Ukraine and other countries supporting it such as the US, pro-Kremlin media are trying to stoke support and gain legitimacy for its ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in the assault on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, and the Islamic State group have claimed responsibility.
There is no evidence backing the baseless allegation that the Islamic State is an American or a Western creation. The US has been acting as the leader of the global coalition to defeat Daesh/ISIS, and has invested massive resources and efforts for years to fight Al Qaeda.
However, through this false claim, this disinformation message aims to discredit US support for Ukrainian resistance, including financial and weapons supplies, against Russia’s aggression.
US officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group's Afghan affiliate IS-Khorasan is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
The US was legally obliged to warn Moscow earlier this month of a possible attack in Russia aimed at large gatherings before issuing a public advisory to citizens in the country. More than two weeks before the terrorist attack, the U.S. government told Russian officials that Crocus City Hall was a potential target.
The alert was dismissed as "provocative", "blackmail" and an "attempt to intimidate, destabilise our country" by Putin. He said: “I’ll remind you of recent, let’s say directly, provocative statements of certain official Western structures about potential terror attacks in Russia. All of this looks like obvious blackmail and an attempt to intimidate, destabilise our country”.
News from credible sources has now appeared that Iran had warned Moscow a few days before 22 March of an imminent attack by ISIS. This was based on information obtained from arrested ISIS terrorists in Iran.
President Putin acknowledged late on 25 March that Islamists had committed the attack.
See similar disinformation cases: ISIS claiming responsibility for the Moscow attack looks like a fake; Anti-Russian actors using neo-Nazis in Kyiv may be involved in Crocus attack; Ukrainian official admitted Ukraine’s involvement in the terrorist attack in Crocus City; Kyiv may be involved in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall; Crocus attacks could be conducted by both ISIS and Ukraine, both under US control.